Method of ventilating and providing desired atmospheric conditions in inclosures



Oct. 16, 1934; LEWIS L. 1,977,315 METHOD OF VENTILATING AND PROVIDING DESIRED ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS IN INCLOSURE'S Original Filed April 28, 1927 I 2 Shets-Sheet 1 @c&. M E9340 4 L. L. LEWiS 1,977,315

METHOD OF VENTILATING AND PROVIDING DESIRED ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS IN INCLOSURES.

Original'Filed April 28, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 16, 1934 DIETHOD OF VENTILATING AND PROVIDENG DESIRED ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS IN INCLOSURES Leo L. Lewis, Plainfield, N. 3., a'ssignor to Auditorium Conditioning Corporation, New

York, N. Y.

Original application April 28, 1927, Serial No. 187,376. Divided and this application August 20, 1930, Serial No. 476.572

' 4 Claims.

This invention relates to the ventilating and conditioning of the air of inclosures, such as theaters, auditorium, school buildings and other inclosed places wherein people may assemlble in considerable numbers.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 187,376, filed April 28, 1927.

In order to insure the comfort of the people assembled in such inclosures, provision must be made to regulate the relative humidity and temperature of the air of the inclosures, and to supply outside or fresh air in sufiicient quantities for breathing purposes and proper ventilation. During hot weather it is necessary to dehumidify and cool air supplied to the inclosure, in order to absorb or remove the heat and moisture ema hating from the assembled people and to make the atmospheric conditions within the inclosure most desirable and comfortable for the occupants. The dehumidified air is usually cooled to a temperature materially below that desired in the inclosure, in order to obtain the necessary reduction in the'dewpoint of the air, and then the air should be heated to a suitable temperature, such that when introduced into the inclosure it will not cause discomfort or objectionable drafts. It is desirable to avoid the necessity of using artificial heat during warm weather to heat the treated air. Since the quantity of refrigerated air required to maintain desired conditions in the inclosure will vary to a considerable extent, as the number of people in the inclosure varies, the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of the treated air .will vary also. On the other hand, in cold weather, it may be necessary to' artificially heat the air delivered to the inclosure and also regulate the dewpoint or moisture content thereof as may be necessary to give the most comfortable humidity conditions iirthe inclosure.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for ventilating and conditioning the air of inclosures, which will provide desired comfortable and healthful atmospheric conditions in the inclosure regardless of outside conditions and variations in the. number of people therein ranging from a comparatively empty to a full house.

Another object 01. the invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for producing desired atmospheric conditions in an inclosure in which the requirements may vary from time to time, which will require a minimum of refrigeration and a minimum of artificial heat,

to and which will be relatively simple, flexible in capacity, efiicient and economical in use, and inexpensive.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in the appended claims.

Inthe accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 illustrates in sectional elevation, and more or less diagrammatically, an auditorium and auxiliary rooms equipped with a ventilating and air conditioning system in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar View on a slightly larger; scale, of the conditioning apparatus of the sam.

Referring to the drawings, the place of assembly is represented as a conventional theater or auditorium 1, having a stage 2 at one end, and an entrance lobby 3 at the opposite end of the auditorium. The auditorium or assembly room is substantially closed except for the usual openings through the lobby 3, and for a relief ventilator 4, which may be provided in one of the auxiliary rooms 5. Such auxiliary rooms 5 mayv be smoking or rest rooms. The lobby may have the usual door openings 6 and '2 through which people may pass in entering and leaving the auditorium.

Air may be withdrawn from the assembly room or auditorium, preferably from the occupied section thereof, as through suitable openings 8 in thefloor of the orchestra or main floor of the auditorium, and conveyed through ducts or conduits 9 and 10 to a main return air duct or conduit circulatingair. When the room is sparsely occu-" pied it is unnecessary to condition as large a proportion of the air which is being circulated in constant volume in order to maintain uniform atmospheric conditions in all parts of the molesure or auditorium as is required when the room is filled, and therefore, the main duct 11 is provided with a branch 15 which is connected to the inlet end of the conditioner 14, and a second branch 16 through which the air can be bypassed around, the conditioner. The relative proportions of the air passing through each branch duct can be controlled selectively and varied in accordance with the desired atmospheric conditions in the auditorium, preferably by suitable dampers 1'1 and 18 in said branch ducts.

The outlet end of the conditioner 14 communicates with a mixing chamber 19 into which the branch duct 16 directly opens. The chamber 19 is connected to the intake side of a blower or fan 21 and a heater 20 for the air may be located in this connection. The fan is continuously operated in any suitable manner, such as by a power device 22. The discharge side of the blower or fan 21 communicates with ducts 23 and 24 which extend to different parts of the auditorium, preferably adjacent the ceiling portions thereof, and terminate in a plurality of outlets 25 through which the conditioned air is discharged into the auditorium.

In an inclosure occupied by living beings, it is important that outside or fresh air be admitted in amounts proportional to the number of people in the inclosure for breathing purposes and. proper ventilation and, therefore, I provide a fresh air duct 26 which has an inlet opening 27 exteriorly of the buildingor auditorium, and communicates with the mixing chamber 19 at the outlet end of the conditioner 14. The amount of outside air which is admitted to the mixing chamber 19 may be regulated by suitable dampers such as 28, in the duct 26.

In order to decrease the relative humidity of the air in the auditorium, which isnecessary in hot weather, and even in cold weather when the auditorium is well filled with people, the liquid spray supplied to the conditioner is refrigerated by suitable mechanism 29, well known in the art.

The particular details of the conditioner are not material to the present invention, and therefore are illustrated only conventionally, and it will be understood that other conditions may be utilized in accordance with this invention.

In the operation of the system shown in the drawings, air of the inclosure or auditorium 1 is withdrawn continuously by the' fan 21 through the openings 8 and 12 into the main duct 1-1, and depending upon the requirements, may all be carried to the conditioner 14, or the withdrawn air may be divided into a plurality of streams, the air of one stream being conducted through the branch 15 to the inlet end of the conditioner 1.4 and caused to pass through the conditioner into the mixing chamber 19, and the other stream passing' through the branch duct 16 directly into the mixing chamber 19.

The air of the stream passing through the conditioner has its relative humidity altered, such as by chilling the air to lower its dewpoint, and this treated air is reunited with the remaining withdrawn air in the mixing chamber 19. This mixture then passes to the blower 21, and by the blower is forced through the conduits 23 and 2 into various parts of the auditorium or inclosure, which completes the circulation cycle through the auditorium. The outside air or fresh air which is air taken from some point outside of the auditorium or inclosure, is admitted in the desired or required amounts directly to the mixing chamber 19, where it meets and is mixed with the withdrawn air which has been treated in the conditioner. The outside air then passes with the withdrawn air to the inclosure through the ducts 23 and 24.

other suitable means, of a quantity of its air cor- Whenever outside air is added to the withdrawn air, the amount of air which is delivered to the inclosure by the system is greater than the amount of air withdrawn from the inclosure by an amount corresponding ta the amount of outside air which is mixed with the withdrawn air. In order to take care of this excess air delivered to the auditorium, the auditorium is relieved through the lobby openings 6 and '7 and the ventilator 4, or by any responding to the amount of outside air delivered to the inclosure with the withdrawn air. In actual practice, leakage through walls, doors-and other openings will equalize air pressures inside and outside the inclosure.

In hot climates, or in the summertime, the temperature of the air outside of the inclosure is usually above the temperature of the air in the inclosure, and also higher than the air leaving the conditioner. The air leaving the conditioner is ordinarily too cold to be discharged directly into the inclosure and, therefore, this treated air, which has been refrigerated in order to reduce its dew point, has to be heated before it is delivered into the inclosure. By admitting the warm outside air to the cool conditioned air leaving the conditioner, the outside air will mix with and heat the conditioned air partially or entirely to the desired temperature, thereby making it unnecessary to" provide artificial heat for warming the conditioned air'to the temperature desired for introduction into the inclosure.

The withdrawn air which is bypassed around the conditioner and discharged directly into the mixing chamber 19 also helps to heat the cold no dehumidified air leaving the conditioner and further aids in eliminating the use of artificial heat for he air delivered to the inclosure. The heater 2b is only necessary under winter or extreme conditions. By adjusting the dampers 17, 18 and 28, the relative proportions of the conditioned or unconditioned withdrawn air, and of the outside air admitted directly to the mixing chamber 19 may be varied selectively, as desired, in order to obtain the desired atmospheric condi- 0 tionswithin the auditorium.

V The return air normally has a temperature and humidity approximating that which is maintained in the inclosure, while the fresh or outside air will usually, under summer conditions have a 5 temperature and humidity greater than that of the return air.

It will be observed that by admitting the outside air to the refrigerated air leaving the conditioner, artificial heat will not'be required in hot weather 13 and refrigeration may be conserved in cold weather, thus dfl'ecting a considerable operating economy.

It will be obvious that various changes in the details which have been hereindescribed and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:'

1. The method of ventilating and providing desired atmospheric conditions in an inclosure in which people may congregate in considerable numbers, which includes withdrawing air from and'returning the same to the inclosure, condi- 5 tioning a variable portion of the withdrawn air to lower its absolute humidity content, mixing the conditioned air with a mixture of withdrawn air and outside air to form a volume of air larger than the volume of conditioned air and at a dry bulb temperature higher than that oi the conditioned air.

2. The method of ventilating and providing de-' sired atmospheric conditions in an inclosure in which persons may congregate in considerable numbers, which includes withdrawing air from and returning the same to the inclosure, conditioning the withdrawn air as to its humidity by cooling it to precipitate excess moisture, and admitting to the conditioned cooled air before its return to the inclosure, a quantity of outside air at a temperature higher than the conditioned air.

3. The method or ventilating and providing desired atmospheric conditions in an inclosure in which persons may congregate in considerable numbers, which includes continuously withdrawing air from the inclosure and replacing the same by air delivered to the inclosure, conditioning the air to be delivered to the inclosure as to its humidity by cooling that air to a temperature at which the undesired moisture is precipitated, and before its return to the inclosure mixing outside air with said air which has been conditioned to form a mixture greater in volume and. at a suitably higher temperature than the conditioned air.

4. A method of regulating the atmospheric conditions of an inclosure in which people assemble, when outdoor temperatures are uncomfortably high, consisting in dehumidifying a volume of air by lowering its temperature to a point too cold m comfort, adding thereto prior to delivery to the inclosurea volume of outdoor air at relatively high temperature, so that a resultant mixture is formed greater in volume than the dehumidiiied air and higher in temperature than the dehumidifled air and delivering the mixture to the inclosure.

LEO L. LEWIS. 

